India Achieves Milestone in Great Indian Bustard Conservation: 'Jumpstart Approach' Success in Gujarat After a Decade

In a landmark achievement for wildlife conservation in India, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, has announced the successful hatching of a Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chick in Gujarat's Kutch region—the first such event in over ten years. The breakthrough comes through an innovative and unprecedented conservation strategy termed the "Jumpstart Approach," marking a significant turning point in efforts to revive one of the world's most critically endangered bird species.

The Great Indian Bustard, once widespread across India's grasslands, is now on the brink of extinction, with fewer than 150 individuals estimated to survive in the wild. Habitat loss, power line collisions, and the collapse of viable breeding populations have pushed the species into a critical survival phase. Gujarat, in particular, has faced an alarming decline, with only three surviving female GIBs remaining in the wild grasslands of Kutch—effectively eliminating the possibility of natural reproduction due to the absence of males.

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in collaboration with the State Forest Departments of Rajasthan and Gujarat and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), conceptualized and executed a bold inter-state conservation intervention. Planned over a year, this initiative represents India's first successful implementation of a "jumpstart" technique for GIB conservation.

The process involved the strategic replacement of an infertile egg laid by a wild female GIB in Kutch with a fertile, captive-bred egg sourced from Rajasthan's conservation breeding programme. This delicate operation required transporting the egg over a distance of approximately 770 kilometres—from Sam in Rajasthan to Naliya in Gujarat—via a meticulously coordinated, non-stop road journey lasting more than 19 hours. A special halt-free corridor was created to ensure the egg's safety, while it was housed in a handheld portable incubator to maintain precise temperature and humidity conditions throughout transit.

The egg replacement was carried out on March 22, 2026. Remarkably, the wild female GIB accepted the egg and continued incubation naturally. On March 26, the chick successfully hatched and has since been observed being nurtured by the foster mother in its natural habitat. Field monitoring teams have confirmed that the chick is active and adapting well—an encouraging sign for long-term survival.

Describing the development as a "significant milestone," Shri Bhupender Yadav highlighted that this success underscores the effectiveness of combining scientific innovation with coordinated governance. He emphasized that this is not merely a one-off success, but part of a broader, structured conservation roadmap aimed at species recovery and eventual rewilding.

The Minister also provided key updates on the ongoing conservation breeding programme under Project GIB. Currently, 73 GIBs are being maintained in controlled breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra in Rajasthan. Notably, five new chicks have been added during the current breeding season alone, indicating steady progress in captive population growth. These facilities play a crucial role in ensuring genetic diversity, safeguarding eggs, and supporting future reintroduction into the wild.

Project GIB itself traces its origins to a vision articulated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2011, with formal implementation beginning in 2016. The programme aims to secure viable populations of the Great Indian Bustard across its natural habitats in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. Over the years, it has expanded to include habitat management, predator control, undergrounding of power lines in priority areas, and advanced reproductive technologies such as artificial incubation and assisted breeding.

The "Jumpstart Approach" now adds a new dimension to these efforts by directly addressing the challenge of isolated and non-breeding wild populations. By enabling wild females to raise chicks from externally sourced fertile eggs, this method bridges the gap between captive breeding and natural rewilding—a critical step in restoring self-sustaining populations.

Experts believe that this approach could be replicated in other regions where GIB populations are fragmented or male-deficient. It also opens up possibilities for conservation strategies in other endangered species facing similar reproductive bottlenecks.

Shri Yadav commended the scientists, forest officials, and field teams involved in the operation, calling their work a testament to India's growing leadership in conservation science. He reiterated the Government's commitment to ensuring the survival of the Great Indian Bustard, stating that "no stone will be left unturned" in protecting this iconic species.

The successful hatching in Kutch is more than a symbolic victory—it is a demonstration of how targeted innovation, inter-state collaboration, and sustained policy focus can reverse ecological decline. As India continues its broader wildlife conservation journey, this achievement stands out as a beacon of hope for critically endangered species and a model for future conservation interventions.